


The Indestructible Hulk

by Sybil_Silverphoenix



Category: Avengers, Hulk - Fandom, X-Men
Genre: Bruce's journey of self-discovery, Gen, He did have an A-hole for a father in the comics, Jennifer just wants her family back, Mentions of child abuse in Bruce's past, Samuel Sterns' diabolical plot, Thaddeus Ross' on going drive to end the Hulk, This is part of my Heroes & Villains series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2018-12-18 19:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11880825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sybil_Silverphoenix/pseuds/Sybil_Silverphoenix
Summary: Captain Rogers has let Doctor Banner have his time alone for a year now, but with General Ross now Secretary of Defense in the current Administration (Trump), the Good Captain needs to locate the on-the-lam Doctor after being 'threatened' with the Sokovia Accords (which is the Mutant Restration Act rehashed and now on a global scale).So Steve sends out his old war buddy, Logan aka The Wolverine, to track down and bring back the low key Banner... but not without some help. Enter She-Hulk.This odd couple have to locate the World's Strongest Man as well as try and figure out how to work together without killing each other.Meanwhile, The Avengers pommel each other in a brutal Civil War and are broken asunder. And when Steve Rogers busts Team Cap out of the Raft... Ross decides to take matters into his own hands. The aged General winds up making a deal with the Devil so to speak and has the altered Samuel Sterns do the unthinkable.... turn Ross into that which he hunts.... a Hulk.Get ready for Hulk smashing action and loads of feels as Jen tries to get Bruce to come back home and Hulk & Wolverine have a fist-to-cuffs disagreement.





	1. A Hard Look at What was… and what is

**Author's Note:**

> On a side note... I do not acknowledge the whole Bruce/Natasha ship in Age of Ultron. That relationship was too forced and besides, fear is not a healthy place to start an attraction from.  
> It would've made so much more sense for Bruce to get with Helen.
> 
> Plus, there is mention of Bruce's very abusive father in this chapter. I wanted to stick true to Bruce's back story in the comics... and he was abused regularly by his dad when he was a kid. Just giving everyone a heads up on that.
> 
> Otherwise, enjoy and let me know what you think :)

_Clouds_ _Forest_ _near Khar Turan National Park, Iran… May 5, 2016_

 

Bruce opens his eyes and blinks against the harsh glare of the midday sun beating down on him through the broken gap in the tree canopy above. He looks around him at the blur of green and quickly finds a silver case nearby… Bruce sighs in relief and opens it. Inside he finds two changes of clothes plus a pair of sneakers, a new pair of glasses, three bottles of water, and a big bag of trail mix as well as some beef jerky. There’s some US, EU, and Chinese currency inside three side pockets respectively.

Bruce dresses quickly, pockets all the cash, puts the glasses on, then downs half of one bottle before he starts working on the trail mix. He remembers what he did as the Hulk in the fight against Ultron just an hour or so ago… the capital of Sokovia was literally ripped out of the ground and taken up into the air via a rather beautiful blend of anti-grav engines and Tony’s very own repulsor technology.

He remembers Natasha trying to talk him back to the Helicarrier… but Bruce and Hulk had made a joint decision NOT to go back… especially not after what happened in South Africa. Bruce shakes his head at the memory of what Hulk had seen under the Scarlet Witch’s reality warping spell.

He had seen a swarm of wasps… felt their sharp stings on his verdant skin and howled in pain. Hulk had raced away from the flying menace only to wind up surrounded by the US Army… tanks everywhere, machine guns peppering his bulletproof skin, stinging him almost as badly as the wasps. His rage was complete and blinding. He swatted at the pesky buzzing insects and slammed his fists into the tanks… ripping the metal war machines apart… throwing them from his massive form… only to be hounded mercilessly by the stinging insects constantly buzzing about his head and shoulders. All the while it had really been civilian vehicles and police personal he had been attacking.

Bruce releases a shuddering breath as he returns to the present. He looks at the compass from the emergency gear in the case and sets a course North which will take him out of the mountainous area and hopefully more towards signs of civilization. As he goes, Bruce can’t help but think of all that he has just walked away from… friends, a dream job doing work that will actually help save the planet from Humanity itself…

Tony…

Natasha…

Steve…

Clint…

Thor…

Sam…

Even Doctors Selvig and Foster…

Helen Cho…

Oh, Helen… how he’ll miss her most of all. They had been dating since late 2014. Bruce had even had plans to pop ‘the question’ to her in a month’s time from now… but those plans are gone now. And he must put the past behind him.

He knows out of everyone else… he’ll miss Tony just as much as Helen. Tony was the one person who didn’t look at him with disdain, veiled anger, or outright fear. Tony had become his best friend and a dear confidant… even though Tony could be overbearing from time to time in his constant research about how exactly Bruce goes green.

Bruce sighs and finds himself remembering a random day with Tony in the lab before he and Helen had gotten together… it would’ve been like any other save for Tony wanting to talk about the _Other Guy_.

 

~f~*~l~*~a~*~s~*~h~*~b~*~a~*~c~*~k~

_Stark’s personal lab, Avengers Tower… Summer of 2014_

 

“Ya know… I never got the chance to properly thank you for saving my life.” Tony said randomly one day as he and Bruce tinker together on a new project… It had been about a week since the ‘therapy session’ where Tony tried to vent his story of self-discovery while dealing with the terrorist known simply as _‘The Mandarin’_. Tony was working hard now to ‘nano-ize’ invisa-shielding like what S.H.I.E.L.D. has on their Helicarrier.

“Uhh… yeah, you did.” Bruce said as he looks at the data readouts on his StarkSlate. “You hired me to your R&D department, remember? Or have you been smoking your funny cigarettes again?” Bruce added with a chuckle and a lopsided smile then gave Tony a pointed look from over his glasses.

“You know I have a prescription, Doctor…” Tony had deflected in a deadpan tone. Odd. Curious. And, yes, alarming. Then he added… “You should let the Other Guy out.”

Tony said quickly diverting the conversation back on course. Bruce sighed and looked at Tony hard… his employer just stood there, stock still, with his back to him. They’ve had this conversation before… and they are likely to have it again and again and again… that doesn’t mean it is any less aggravating to hear.

“You know why that is unthinkable right here, right now.” Bruce said swallowing to tamp down his rising anger. Breathing deep and even through his nose to calm his racing heart. “If I let… _him_ out… the entire city is at risk.” Bruce said reminding Tony of the dangers. _‘Then I’ll have to run again… and this time… I won’t be able to stop.’_ Bruce had thought frowning in the moment. Tony can be such a pain in the ass sometimes… constantly poking, prodding, and startling him to provoke a ‘reaction’. Bruce had gotten used to it by then… but it is taxing. He knows Tony is just fascinated and curious… but then so was that darn cat… and look what happened to him.

“More like my Tower and Midtown… but I’d just lead you away… or blast ya out into the Atlantic… either way… damage will be minimal.” Tony had rattled off thinking of the simple logistics of such a catastrophic event. “Besides… it would be smarter to go out to the middle of nowhere… but still that’s not my point.”

“What is your point, Tony?” Bruce asked then tapping the StarkSlate’s stylus to his chin after crossing his arms. “Know what… never mind… I need a break right now.” Bruce quickly said uncrossing his arms and turned away.

“Wait, Bruce… please. Hear me out.” Tony pleaded. Bruce, against his better judgment, stopped and turned around to look at the second craziest, yet one of the smartest men on the planet… in engineering that is… and gave him his undivided attention.

“I get it… you’re not into the ‘destruction of all property within reach’ thing that tends to happen… it’s a given… but have you tried to control the Hulk?” Tony asked and his voice had sounded somewhat melancholy at having spoken those words. Bruce felt a headache coming on in that moment… he had been getting them regularly since his ‘accident’ a decade ago. They had become more frequent since Loki’s stay on the Helicarrier. He had removed his glasses at the time to alleviate the pressure by pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing the corners of his eyes.

“How can you control a Force of Nature?” Bruce had asked a bit too irritably. “Short answer: You CAN’T. You get the hell outta the way and hope you don’t choose the wrong direction.”

“Not necessarily true. I’ve got one word for ya… Thor.” Tony had come back with, cocky smile on his face and gave a waggle of his brows.

“He doesn’t count.” Bruce sighed.

“Does too… he calls the lightning and discharges it with his glorified lightning rod… that apparently only he can lift… convenient.” Tony said in his usual blasé way even rolling his eyes at the last. “Anywhoo… my point is this… you’ve got all that power locked up inside of you… use it. Plus, stretching those green muscles of yours in a few practice runs could prove beneficial when you do find yourself out on an ‘Avenger Mission’ doing, ya know, save-the-world type stuff.” Tony had said so casually then sipped at his fruit smoothie. Bruce had thought on Tony’s words for a moment as silence fell between them… he has been thinking of them since that day…

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It wasn’t long after that that Bruce had met Betsy Braddock aka Psylocke… and the beautiful woman with the purple-streaked hair from London had caught his attention… as well as Hulk’s. In fact, Hulk liked her more than Bruce did. Sure, Bruce found her to be quite lovely and witty… and she certainly helped him rediscover intimacy… *cough cough*… But she was just too far away living in London, working for the Brit’s version of S.H.I.E.L.D… S.W.O.R.D. they called it… complete with their own team of super powered individuals known as Team Excalibur.

Yeah, she didn’t have time for him… and Bruce moved on… just like he did with Betty… but it still hurt all the same. And what’s worse, Hulk had grown very attached to Psylocke as well. In the end, Bruce had convinced his alter ego to let go as well… a daunting task indeed. Which wasn’t very successful until Doctor Helen Cho waltzed into his life… and Bruce found himself swept off his feet by her brilliant intellect and shy charm. Hulk begrudgingly came around to liking her too… especially after saving her from the incident last year when Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones tried to kidnap her for Hydra. Hulk had ambushed Hydra’s extraction point and made certain Helen wasn’t taken… and she then had a moment to bond with the green giant. Rumlow had gotten away though… it would only be a matter of time before he struck again.

Bruce then finds himself pushing further back into his memories… all the way back to his childhood. He remembers how his dad was always loud and abusive to him and his mother when he drank… and he drank a lot. Flashes of a long ago night fill his mind like the flickering images in a horror film, dark and gritty, in full detail and in slow motion at the terrifying parts…

 

~f~*~l~*~a~*~s~*~h~*~b~*~a~*~c~*~k~

 

_Banner Household… Fall of 1980_

 

A ten year old Bruce plays quietly on the floor with the chemistry set his Uncle Jon and Aunt Debbie had gotten him recently for his birthday. He has litmus paper to test acidity in solutions in his small hands. Bruce then slowly sneaks over behind his father’s recliner. His father was fully engrossed with the game playing on the box television to pay any real notice to the small arm reaching up to dip a strip of paper into his glass of beer. The whole operation went smoothly until…

“That call was bullshit!” Bruce’s father yelled out startling Bruce… who yanked his hand away only to knock the glass over and spill the golden liquid on the end table and floor. “What the hell?” His father said heatedly looking down upon the mess and spotted Bruce dart away. “Dammit! You little bastard! I told you NOT to mess with my things!”

And before Bruce could get away to safety, he is grabbed, hauled over his father’s knee, and his little backside is smacked repeatedly by the large, strong hand. Bruce cried out in pain as his father utilizes his full strength into every blow.

“Will! Stop that!” Bruce’s mom had chastised as she came into the living room from the kitchen.

“You stay outta this, you whore!” Bruce’s father then yelled at his wife. She promptly slapped him across the face. A long, terrible silence seems to stretch between them after that.

Then his father went back on his rampage…

“Damned kid! Always getting your nose into something.” The angry drunk ranted as he dragged his son down the hall to the small closet at its end.

“No, dad! Please, no!” Little Bruce had cried out repeatedly sobbing harder and harder the closer they get to the confining space…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Bruce snaps himself from the distant memory of his childhood. It wasn’t long after that that his father’s verbal and physical abuse of his son and wife escalated to a point that Bruce’s mother pulled a knife on her husband and stabbed him. Bruce finds himself shambling into the nearest town in northwestern Iran as he recalls how his mother defended herself from her abusive husband.

 

~f~*~l~*~a~*~s~*~h~*~b~*~a~*~c~*~k~

 

_Banner Household… Spring of 1981_

 

Bruce is seated quietly in the living room on the floor playing with some lego bricks. He does his best to ignore the heated words his parents are exchanging in the kitchen. It’s the usual spiel… Bruce’s dad drinks too much, doesn’t work enough, etc etc… Then the slap resounds from the kitchen and Bruce’s brown eyes snap up to look through the door way into the bright room hearing his mother’s pained cry.

“Let that be a lesson in opening your smart mouth to me, woman!” His father had said in anger. Fist raised, ready to strike another blow. “Or do you need a refresher?” Bruce watched transfixed as his mother cowers.

“Thought so… even a stupid whore like you knows when you’re beat.” His dad said then turned around. “Just to be sure that you know never to challenge me again… I’m gonna give Bruce the same then put him in the closet for the rest of the afternoon.” His dad threatens as he struts menacingly through the kitchen. And Bruce just sat there frozen. He didn’t want to go back in the closet let alone be whipped. He hated it in there. He’d cry and cry and his father would call him a baby and say he wasn’t his son… but rather his daughter. It was humiliating and hurtful to the young boy.

Bruce snapped out of it as his father took a rough, bruising hold upon his small arm…

“I’m gonna whip the girl right outta you.” His father said gruffly as he loomed overhead menacingly. Bruce feared his father more than anything in the world at this moment… then the savage yell of his mother was heard followed by his father’s pained cry and jerking reaction. When his father turned to look back at his wife, the young Bruce could see a large knife in his mother’s hands… the shiny steel was nearly half covered in red…  she had stabbed his abusive father in the back… and Bruce could see the welling dark red stain below the shoulder of his father’s light blue shirt.

“You fucking bitch!” He then yells as he clutches at his side and slumps a bit… but his rage had overcome him and he managed to surge forward in an explosive display. He tackled his wife to the tiled kitchen floor and wrested the chopping knife from her slighter hands. He then proceed to stab his wife repeatedly in the chest and stomach… all in front of Bruce’s watching eyes.

He was rooted to the spot, frozen to the thought of fleeing… transfixed at the horror playing out brutally before him. Then just as his mother’s screams started to fade, instinct took over and young Bruce fled. He ran as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him down the street to the first house he saw with lights still on in the windows. He knocked frantically and plead with the woman who answered the door to call 911.

When the police and ambulance finally arrived ten minutes later, it was too late for his mother… and his father had chosen to use the revolver he kept in his night stand on himself rather than go to prison.

It had been the most traumatic thing to ever happen to him… until his Gamma experiment had gone horribly wrong… or just a year after that when he learnt about how dangerous his blood truly was… or just yesterday when…

Bruce breaks down and weeps at the unending string of traumas that is his life. His only regret is that he cannot end it, even now.


	2. Getting to Know you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolverine and She-Hulk are on their way to find Bruce.  
> As they travel, Logan learns a little more about the seven foot tall, green woman.

_Avengers Compound, Upstate New York… early June, 2017_

 

“I need you to do this for me ASAP, Logan.” Steve Rogers says to his other old wartime friend, Logan a.k.a. The Wolverine. The gruff looking Mutant sniffs and nods his head. “I’ve let him have his time… but with General Ross now Secretary of Defense slapping the Sokovia Accords on us… I need you to find Bruce and get him back here.”

“I’ll find him, Cap.” Logan says as he agrees to the mission.

“But I need it done quietly.” Steve then adds in a near whisper.

“This ain’t happening without me.” A new voice says and the two men turn their eyes to the towering seven foot seven, green skinned woman dressed in her black and purple S.H.I.E.L.D. issue tactical field uniform. So enters Jennifer Walters a.k.a. She-Hulk.

“Oh great… there goes doing this quietly.” Logan says in his typical deadpan sarcasm.

“Look here, Little Man… I don’t think you’ll be able to convince Bruce or the Hulk to ‘come along quietly’.” She-Hulk snaps back as she gives a hard glare down at the 6’2 Mutant. “You’re just going to wind up reduced to mush… and that’s why you need me to go as well.” She finishes with a nod and knowing look to Captain Rogers.

“I don’t need you… when I’ve got _these_.” Wolverine growls out as he lifts his left fist and pops his adamantium claws. He glares at her through them with equally hard hazel eyes.

“He knows me… they _both_ know me.” She-Hulk reasons as she locks burning emerald eyes with Logan.

“Alright… both of you go.” Steve says in his Captain’s Voice and the arguing pair look to the Avengers’ Leader at the same time. “Take a stealth quinjet. Radio Silence. You’re going to have to rely on each other… so play nice.”

“Sure thing, Captain.” She-Hulk says sultry and with a smirk on her purple hued lips. She then turns swiftly on her heel and leaves Steve’s quarters in three great strides. She stoops at the door then turns around just outside of it. “Oh yeah… by the way, Stark has called a meeting for all the Avengers to meet in the Common Room.” She adds then turns and makes for the landing pads.

“Seriously? You want me to track down the Hulk with _her_? Steve, I don’t think that’s wise considering I have to blend in over there… and nothing draws more attention in the Middle East than an eight foot tall… _attractive_ … green woman wearing next to nothing… by their standards.” Logan gripes… but Steve realizes his friend makes a good point.

“You’re right…” Steve starts agreeing with his old friend. “I can just imagine she’d turn alotta heads… so that’s why she’ll stay with the quinjet until you spot Bruce.” Steve then says with a note of finality in his tone. Logan huffs out a sigh.

“Christ… sometimes I hate it when you make sense, Rogers.” Logan then says as he turns and heads out the door.

 

___________

 

_Mosul_ _, Northern Iraq… mid March, 2017_

 

Bruce had been living his nomadic life once more… but he couldn’t stand idly by and watch people suffering whenever he came upon bombed out towns and villages as he wandered through the Middle East (particularly around Syria and Iraq) on his way to Africa. He had taken an oath to heal the sick and comfort the dying twenty years ago… and he would honor that ‘til the day he died. But that didn’t mean he escaped notice from suspicious eyes.

One fateful day, Bruce was at a temporary UN medical shelter in the southern part of Mosul… when suddenly a half-dozen or more ISIS terrorists dressed all in black, faces covered, come charging in. They shoot and kill many of the injured Iraqis… they even shoot one of the foreign doctors, a British doctor, and moved the others, including Bruce, out the back of the medical tent.

There were nearly two dozen more ISIS fighters outside standing in an arcing line with weapons ready. One member of the terrorist rabble started making bold declarations in Arabic and gesturing to the captive doctors whilst an ISIS fighter walked around with a camera in hand to record this latest event. Bruce looked around and noticed that one of the black wearing crew is standing off a ways with a couple of body guards. All the while, this man slowly stroked his long, full beard. The glint of gold upon the middle finger caught the scientist’s eye… it was a thick ring set with a large black stone.

“ ‘Look… you really don’t want to do this.’ ” Bruce said in Arabic trying to plead with the proclaimer to stop. The hooded man scowled at Bruce then grabbed the American doctor pulling him forward.

“ ‘Then you die first, American Infidel!’ ” The terrorist said then pushed Bruce down to the sandy ground. He caught himself upon his hands though.

“You’re making me angry… you won’t like me when I’m angry.” Bruce then warned in English.

“ ‘Silence! American scum!’ ” The lead terrorist then shouted and gave a swift kick to Bruce’s ribs. Bruce takes the hit and then looks down at the sandy ground below him. He feels the hot desert wind pick up stirring the sand around him. He can feel the Hulk raging inside his mind eager to be unleashed… his focus then narrowed down becoming hyperaware… the moment drawn out into a long stretch of listening to his attacker rant and rave about America and bringing death to her citizens. The machine gun he is holding was then cocked and Bruce could feel the barrel pressing to the back of his head… the doctor draws his fingers in, catching sand inside his clenched fists.

“ ‘I warned you.’ ” Bruce mutters out before letting Hulk take control.

 

___________

 

Jennifer watches the screen of the StarkSlate in her large, fingerless gloved, green hands closely. Playing upon the device is a somewhat shaky ISIS production video from some northern Iraqi town… the scene that has captured her attention though is a hard one to watch…

Bruce mutters something in Arabic… and then suddenly… he starts to swell turning green and just like that, Hulk has come out in his eight and half foot tall glory eager to smash… which he does, repeatedly. He takes out every single ISIS fighter with wide arcing slaps, sweeping kicks, and well placed jabs. The angry green giant even moves to stand in front of the Doctors Without Borders people shielding them from bullets. Things get kicked up a notch, or ten, further when some ISIS controlled artillery rolls up and fires at the gamma monster.

Hulk manages to hold his ground as the by-standers flee the area. He then charges the line of pick up trucks with anti-tank .50 cal machine guns mounted in the beds… which don’t stop firing… even as the Hulk impacts one of them. Two ISIS fighters even fire off a barrage of explosive rounds from their grenade launchers. One even manages to score a direct hit to Hulk’s face with an RPG round.

Though it stuns Hulk for a split second… it just winds up pissing him off even more. So after shaking his head, Hulk gives a mighty, ear-splitting roar then leaps at the remaining vehicles and starts ripping them apart/smashing the hell out of them. As some ISIS fighters rush up and unload their AK-47s on him… the Hulk tosses a crumpled truck at the group. They are promptly crushed.

The camera is dropped then, the wielder perhaps hit by some flying debris, landing to the sandy ground yet still trained on the Hulk… who roars out mightily once more then leaps away. Jen blinks and starts the video over yet again.

“Ya know, if you keep staring at that… it’s just going to upset you more.” Logan says a touch agitated. His mood is sour because they are flying… the only mode of travel that unnerves the usually unshakable Wolverine. Unlike typical airplanes, the quinjets are the smoothest flying craft ever, but with heightened senses… the Wolverine still finds himself feeling uneasy. She-Hulk looks up at the smaller Mutant with a slight frown upon her purple painted lips. She lets the building emotions go and calms her features.

“I’m just gleaning the evidence for further clues.” She says simply then wets her lips and looks back down at the StarkSlate just as Hulk’s roar can be heard from the video. “I’ve gotta get my family back.” She whispers out as she watches the scene play out yet again with sad eyes. Logan eyes the giant, green woman. He can tell she’s nervous.

“What’s he to ya? Husband?” Logan says curiously with a cocked brow. He gets a heated glare at that… and a quick response…

“No.” She-Hulk says immediately. “He’s the last living relative I’ve got. He’s my cousin…” She then breaks off and furiously blinks to keep her burgeoning tears at bay. “But he might as well be my brother.” She then finishes more steadily. Logan knows he’s hit a sore spot.

“I’m sorry.” Logan says a bit dryly after a heavy sigh… but he means it.

“You don’t have to apologize.” She-Hulk then says hastily as she sets the StarkSlate aside and gets up. She crouches low in the (to her) cramped space as she approaches the pilot’s chair. She leans over it to double check the guidance computer and the coordinates it displays for the autopilot’s flight plan… two klicks southwest of Mosul, Iraq.

“So… cousins, huh?” Logan says breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them. He might as well try and get to know her since they are working together at the moment. It is what Steve would want. “Now I can see the family resemblance.” Logan adds and gives a shrug of his shoulder. Being talkative hasn’t ever really been his strong suit.

“Yeah…” She-Hulk starts as she turns back around still leaning forward to look at Logan who promptly looks away… politely trying not to stare down the low cut of her tactical uniform at the more than ample green cleavage as they talk. “My father and his mother were siblings… and when he was a kid… before I was born… Bruce’s father, well, he… he wasn’t a very nice man.” She continues as she returns to her seat opposite Logan.

“Abusive?” Logan asks and She-Hulk nods her head solemnly. “Religious? Drunk? Or just an asshole?”

“A drunk… and an asshole from what Bruce has told me.” She-Hulk replies then sighs. “He, umm… he used to hit Bruce… and then one day… he killed my Aunt while she was trying to protect him.”

“Jesus.” Logan says and shakes his head. “No wonder the guy has anger issues.” A silence slips between them once more.

“So Bruce came to live with your parents.” Logan states more than asks as they look each other in the eyes once more.

“Yes.” She-Hulk starts. “There’s nearly ten years between us… but he’ll always feel like he’s my big brother.” She-Hulk then says and gives a small smile. “He was my tutor when I was in Elementary school… of course, he was teaching me Middle School, even High School level topics before I was in the fifth grade.” She says with a grin.

“So are you a doctor as well?” Logan then asks as he eyes the seven foot plus tall woman… trying to picture her in a white lab coat.

“No.” She says emphatically. “I’m smart… but I’m not into tedious math like him.”

“So then how’d you ‘go green’… if ya don’t mind me askin’?” Logan says with a smirk.

“That’s a long story.” The tall, green woman says in warning.

“We’ve got time.” Logan says and is eager to get his mind off of flying.

“Well… you see… Bruce graduated High School at sixteen and left for college.” She-Hulk starts. “I didn’t see much of him after that… save for around Christmas. He was so focused on his work. He earned his medical PhD in two years… which normally takes around eight years mind you… but I digress.” She then sighs and continues, “I, meanwhile, went on and pursued a career in acting… then when I was fourteen, I starred in a TV show… got all sorts of acclaim which opened allota doors for me.”

“Hmm.” Logan grunts and nods his head. “I’ve never really watched a whole lotta TV myself… no offence.”

“None taken.” She-Hulk says and gives a shrug with her shoulder as she adds, “It was a semi-popular sitcom on the Disney Channel. It wasn’t really my show… Patsy Walker was the main star… after all it was named after her… _It’s Patsy_ is what it was called.” She-Hulk rolls her eyes and smiles amused at remembering her first steady gig in her acting career.

“I went on to do movies then… made it big back in 2000.” She-Hulk sighs and short pauses falls between them as she recalls her former life. “I was one of Hollywood’s top actresses. I could play any role… but I loved action best of all. I had a pretty steady work load until… well, until Bruce had his accident at Culver University.” She pauses once more with a frown upon her purple hued lips and a distant look in her blazing emerald eyes.

“That’s when he started turning green?” Logan says prompting her back to the present.

“Yes.” She-Hulk replies quickly and rapidly blinks tears away. “I… I put a pause on my acting career and started studying law. There was so much negative press around what had happened at the university… so much talk about how a monster was unleashed and that the military was doing everything they could to contain or kill this Hulk that had destroyed so much property and even killed a few people.” She-Hulk stops and Logan sees tears slip free and slide down her green cheeks.

“I hadn’t heard from Bruce since the day before that terrible incident and he when he wasn’t named among the dead, I knew… I just knew that that _monster_ they kept talking about on the news was him.” She quickly wipes at her eyes. “I focused so hard and poured all of my time and a good chunk of my money into learning the law. I wound up passing the Bar Exam after one year… and I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to represent Bruce in a court of law… but dammit, I could give him legal advice and help out behind the scenes, ya know.”

“Yeah, I know how it feels to feel powerless to help loved ones.” Logan says with a sorrowful note as he recalls how he had to kill Jean back 2009. She-Hulk nods her head and smiles reassuringly at him. She can tell he’s had his own trials and tribulations to go through.

“It’s not easy.” She says in comfort.

“It never is.” He replies and sighs. “Please, go on.” He then says and gestures for her to continue her story. She-Hulk clears her throat and starts back up again.

“Not long after I earned my status as a lawyer, Bruce emailed me. Said he’d been laying low up in Canada. I emailed him back… told him to come to my private retreat…” She then gets lost in her memories once more…

 

~*~f~*~l~*~a~*~s~*~h~*~b~*~a~*~c~*~k~*~

 

_September 2009, Sierra Mountains, Nevada side, North side of Lake Tahoe, Jen Walters’ private log cabin retreat_

 

Jennifer drove her sporty Mercedes up her long, winding, and surprisingly paved drive way towards her retreat home. The drive from Sacramento had been tense and somewhat quiet since she picked Bruce up just west of the State Capital.

“We’re almost there, Bruce.” Jen said and reached over to squeeze his thick forearm with her hand. She gave him her most reassuring smile hoping his nervous paranoia would abate. He looked ragged and dingy… like he had been living out on the streets diving into dumpsters for food since the accident. He probably had been doing just that to survive.

“You’re safe now. I’m going to keep you safe, okay?” She said to her older cousin… and boy howdy, did he look older. Pushing forty, Bruce no longer looked like that fresh-faced, nerdy teenager that she had always seen as her ‘big brother’ with wide eyes full of wonder and purpose… replaced was he by this bulky, middle-aged man who looked ready to bolt away and hide at every unexpected noise. Brown eyes full of mistrust and fear. It broke her heart to see Bruce this way… like some wild animal caught rather than the super intelligent man she knew him to be.

They pulled into her double car garage and exited… entering the lavish and spacious log cabin proper. Bruce helped carry Jen’s bags inside and he looked around the living room from its high, vaulted ceiling… along the balcony/catwalk that lead to the second story bedrooms… down to the sunken circular floor in front of the large, stone paved fireplace. There were plush couches around the interior of the sunken floor, a large flat screen TV over the mantle of the fire place and Bruce watched as Jen made her way up the stairs with the bags she carried in hand.

“It’s all a bit much, don’t you think?” Bruce had said as he followed her up the stairs and across the balcony/cat walk.

“Nope. Five million dollars well spent, I say.” Jen replies with a grin. She heard Bruce’s sigh and knew he had rolled his eyes at what he saw as frivolous spending.

“Is there anyone else here?” Bruce then asked as he nervously looked about the open doors that lined the hall.

“No.” Jen replied. “I sent my caretakers, Bob and Martha, to Reno for a get away after they stocked the kitchen pantry downstairs and the firewood corral.” She had said as they entered one of the larger bedrooms. “We won’t be disturbed for the next two weeks.”

“Good.” Bruce said as he put the bags down by the large, dark wooden dresser.

“The bathroom is through that door… you’ll find everything you need in there. Towels are in the white dresser drawers… so feel free to clean up. I’ll go down and fix us up something for dinner.” Jen had told him as she made her way to the door leading out to the hall.

“Jen…” Bruce then said stopping her from leaving. She turned her green eyes towards him. “Thanks… I honestly can’t say that enough. There really hasn’t been anywhere I can go… or stay for too long.” Bruce then looked down and sighed.

“Everything is alright now, Bruce. You’re home… with family… and family…”

“Sticks together.” They both said as one. Jen smiles widely as she watched Bruce finally start to smile for the first time since she picked him up.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Later that evening… after we ate dinner… we wound up having an unexpected guest.” She-Hulk continues her recollection.

 

~*~f~*~l~*~a~*~s~*~h~*~b~*~a~*~c~*~k~*~

 

Jen and Bruce were seated along the counter side of the large center island in her rather large kitchen. They had been laughing and smiling as they caught up and Jen told Bruce funny stories about some of the more famous actors/actresses she has worked with. Then all of a sudden, after a good laugh and some sipping of their drinks, Jen said,

“Come on… let’s go outside. I’ve got a great view to show you, Bruce.” She then talked about how they’d get a good look of the lake from higher up the hillside as they headed for the back door.

 

___________

 

The skies over Lake Tahoe were clear and crisp that September night as a formation of five heavily armed Apache helicopters flew swiftly towards their destined target.

“Approaching the location of target now, sir.” The pilot said into his headset. General Thaddeus Ross looks at the laptop screen in his lap… it is a night vision shot from a camera mounted on the bottom of his chopper’s nose. The large, two-story log cabin comes closer and closer into view in the green and black visual.

“We need to do this quickly and mercilessly, men. So light it up!” Ross commanded to his men. He was met with a chorus of ‘yessir’s and once they were within five hundred yards of the cabin… they flipped the switches to activate their on-board missiles, locked the target, and pressed the red button on their control sticks. Two missiles from each chopper flew away leaving a ghostly white trail in the air behind them…

 

___________

 

“See, I told you it would be better out here.” Jen said as they walked up the stony path lined with tall pine trees from the cabin towards a large gazebo she has out back. They don’t make it though, because without warning the cabin behind them explodes with a tremendous, violent fire ball that light up the night and throws Bruce and Jen off their feet… tossing them some thirty feet forward. Jen hit the ground and the last thing she remembers seeing was Bruce about ten feet away turning green and growing/swelling… then she passed out.

 

___________

 

“Confirm target is destroyed, Alpha 5.” General Ross commanded and the Apache chopper on the far right veered away to sweep around the burning pile of rubble and tinder below. A spotlight blazed to brilliant life and scanned the semi-forested area and the incline below. A few of the tall pine trees are starting to blaze up and burn.

“All is clear. Target is down. I repeat… All clear. Target is down.” The pilot of Alpha 5 said and Ross sighed. His shoulders visibly sagging under the wave of relief he was feeling.

“Wait! There’s movement!” The Alpha 5 pilot’s voice came over the comms and Ross looked up just in time to see the massive form of the green behemoth leaping up from the trees, arms raised, and raging madly. The impact was swift and brutal as Alpha 5 exploded and fell like a stone down onto the stony ground/lake shore below.

“Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers!” Ross commanded into his headset and each chopper veered off in a different direction. “Bring that son of a bitch down!” Ross’ chopper flew higher to keep the General out of harm’s way… the other three go in one after the other firing their powerful guns down at the nearly nine foot tall figure that emerges from the flaming wreckage below.

Hulk raged and roared as he took the hits from the anti-tank guns then uprooted a large boulder from the ground before hurling it at the third chopper to swoop in for an attack. It explodes upon impact and Hulk jumps over the wreckage streaking straight for his position. He is going for Ross’ chopper and the General’s eyes grew wide as he watched his verdant death come for him… but two missiles streaked in and impacted Hulk on his side blasting him away. He hit the ground digging out a massive rut.

The Hulk shook his head and looked up at the three choppers hovering in the night sky above. Two bright spotlights fixate upon him and he growls out his frustration flexing his bulging muscles in defiance of this enemy. Hulk then smacks a fist to his massive chest and roars. Four missiles come streaking in…

He grabbed the first two then leapt into the air throwing one at the closet chopper which strikes its tail rotor. That chopper then spun out of control and fell from the sky onto the burning remnants of Jen’s log cabin. Hulk then twisted in mid air and repeated his tactic by throwing the second missile at the next chopper… it tried to veer away but wound up taking the impact to its underbelly. It fell in a blazing display much like a meteor from the heavens above only to impact in the lake.

“Pull up! Pull up!” Ross shouted to his pilot and the chopper climbs hard… but there is a sudden jerk downward and then the alarms sound. The chopper was beaten mercilessly by the massive fist of the angry green giant and soon they go down… impacting hard into the lake below.

Hulk strode out of the water dragging the downed Apache chopper behind him by the crumpled tail. He leaves the mass of wreckage there on the stony shore then hopped up to where Jen was laying unconscious. He inspected her smaller frame and sees a foot long shard of wood protruding from her side. The urge to help this dark-haired woman overrides everything else in the Hulk’s mind and so he gently scooped her up and held her close to his chest… careful not to jostle her too much, he then leapt away fleeing the scene of carnage behind him.

 

___________

 

The next memory Jen can recall is the feeling of floating… but when she opened her green eyes, she discovered that she was being cradled in the arms of a huge green man. Her eyes were bleary but she could somewhat make out the familiar features of the Hulk’s face.

“Bruce.” She muttered out weakly and notices the large, green-rimmed brown eyes look at her then she registered the sad, guilty look on the Hulk’s face before she passed out once more. Her cheek falling back against the huge shoulder as her consciousness melted away.

“Jen. I’m sorry.” She heard the deep rumble before blackness took her.

 

___________

 

The next conscious thought she had was when her eyes fluttered open once more and she looked about with a drowsy gaze. She noted that she was in a white room with curtains that could be pulled around the bed she was in… and an IV bag was hanging next to her. The faint rhythmic beeping was the final clue that told her she was in a hospital.

She could hear two people arguing just across the room from her position… one she immediately recognized as Bruce and he was adamant about how she needed a blood transfusion asap. But the Doctor (she assumed the other person was a doctor) said that they didn’t have a ready supply of O positive blood on hand and that it would take an hour or two before the Red Cross arrived with enough bags of the required blood type.

“She needs a transfusion now, dammit!” Bruce shouted then huffed and stormed away. Jen felt her consciousness slip once more and blackness swallowed up her sight… the last thing she heard was the heart monitor beeping stop and the dreaded sound of flatlining filtered through in a haze before it too faded away… and Jen felt nothing after that.

 

___________

 

Jen suddenly snapped awake as she felt the burning course through her veins like liquid fire. She grabbed at the sheet as her body arched up off the bed and she gasped out a strangled scream. She could barely register Bruce repeating grief-stricken apologizes as she felt her bones grow and her skin stretch. The bed broke under her increasing weight and her hospital gown ripped apart at her back and around her throat so that when the transformation was finished and she sat up, the pale teal colored material pooled at her front exposing her chest to the room.

“Bruce?!” Jen shouted and her voice was so loud that the shockwave caused the room to shake and the light overhead to burst. Startling her and causing her to flinch. When Jen put her hand down hard upon the tiled floor, it cracked and she looked over at the damage shocked to see that her left hand and arm were green… like the inside of a kiwi in shade.

“I’m sorry, Jen… God help me, I’ll find a way to change you back.” Bruce said with tears and fear in his brown eyes as he looked down at his distraught cousin before he bolted. Jen was left staring at the empty doorway holding her fallen hospital gown to her breasts. Bruce had abandoned her.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“So he left… and that didn’t piss you off?” Logan then asks after hearing Jen tell her side of what happened. She-Hulk levels a flat glare at her current partner. “So you were steamed.” Logan then states and Jen rolls her eyes.

“I was at first… but I came to understand why he did it as time passed.” She then replies and shrugs her shoulders. “General Ross paid me a visit after my metamorphosis. Told me how he’d lock me up and throw away the key if I didn’t come with him… but then Agent Coulson stepped in and told the General he could shove that threat up his ass… in a polite manner mind you.” She adds and smirks at the memory. “I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. after that… became an important field Agent. I even advocated for more fair treatment protocols in dealing with ‘powered’ individuals.”

“And they didn’t treat you as a nuclear level threat?” Logan then asks and there is a hard edge in his hazel eyes.

“No.” She-Hulk replies after a moment’s pause. “They treated me as an equal… for the most part.”

“I bet they did.” Logan adds pensively then looks away. She-Hulk merely gives a cool glare then picks the StarkSlate up once more and starts the ISIS video over again.


	3. When you dance with the Devil…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secretary Ross takes matters into his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best actor I feel that could pull off Samuel Sterns if this were a movie would be... Adam Driver. If you don't know who that is then here's a hint... Kylo Ren from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
> 
> Yep, that guy.
> 
> With his lengthy dark hair pulled back and a slim, pencil goatee he'd really look the part :)

_Late July, 2017… Hyper Max Security Facility known simply as The Raft… located somewhere in the North Atlantic_

 

Secretary Thaddeus Ross slams his fist down hard on his heavy desk. Stark isn’t picking up the call… and this is an Avenger level emergency. Steve Rogers, former Captain America, recently bypassed the Raft’s security systems (with the aid of the now on-the-run Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff) and released several inmates… namely his band of law breaking vigilantes.

“Ugh!” Ross growls out as he slams the phone’s receiver back in its cradle then promptly swipes everything off his desk and onto the carpeted floor. He groans out his frustration yet again as he runs his hands through his silvery-white hair… tugging on it as his face gets redder and redder. He then looks at a picture of his daughter, Betty, and her husband, Leonard Samson. He hasn’t spoken to her since the incident in Harlem back in 2010… even though she now has two children.

“Get it together, Ross.” He tells himself as he then looks in a mirror on the wall near his desk. He smoothes his hair down and back into place and straightens his suit jacket and tie. He runs a hand down the lower half of his face to smooth down his mustache and a slight frown settles upon his aged face.

Blonsky’s words from seven years ago ring around once more in his head… if only he was thirty years younger at this moment, he’d give all of these freaks a run for their money. That’s when a radically wild, off-the-wall idea strikes him. Ross picks up his phone and places it back on the desk. Receiver to his ear, he presses a red button and waits… after a few rings, the person he is calling answers…

“Mr. President… this is your Secretary of Defense, General Thaddeus Ross… I know there’s much contention right now about letting ‘super-powered’ individuals run around. I just wanted to tell you that I have a plan to deal with them… all of them… so leave it all to me, sir.” Ross says calmly belying his earlier rampage. Ross then smiles as President Trump gives him the green light to do whatever he believes necessary to put an end to the chaos that is swirling around about Mutants, Inhumans, and the splitting of the Avengers… all because it’s ‘bad press’ for his ‘image’.

 

___________

 

_The Raft, Deep Level 6_

 

Ross makes his way down into the deeper security levels. They keep dangerous Mutants and other extremely volatile ‘Enhanced’ individuals down here… the most dangerous of which are kept on Deep Level Six.

 

 

 

The pressurized doors hiss open and Ross struts through walking down the hall past an all plastic and carbon-fiber cell with no occupant (it is kept ready to house Magneto should he ever be captured once again)… and there is a fourteen foot sarcophagus with refrigerant poofing slowly from the top connectors, this holds an unconscious Abomination… but Ross bypasses all of these… heading straight for the cozy cell at the end with classical music streaming from within.

The occupant… a seven foot tall man with green skin (though his overly enlarged head is what adds to his typical 6’2 height) sits upon a plush chair with a thick book in hand titled ‘War and Peace’. He licks his right thumb and turns the page to continue reading.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of this rare and… unexpected… visit… General?” The green man says suddenly without looking up from his new page as he continues to speed read the contents. He flips the page once more before correcting himself… “Oh, yes… that’s right… it’s Secretary now.” He adds in sudden enlightenment but finishes with a cool, knowing smirk as he flips the page yet again. Ross frowns slightly at the large-headed man and narrows his eyes.

“I need you to help me catch the Hulk, Sterns.” Ross then says simply.

“Say that again.” Sterns retorts and puts his hand to his ear. The gesture looks ridiculous with how small his hand looks compared to his tall cranium.

“You heard me the first time. Do you want another crack at the Hulk or not, Sterns… cause if not, I’ll stop sending meals down here.” Ross threatens heatedly yet in such a dispassionate manner.

“Now, now, now… dear General. No need for such… extremes.” Sterns counters giving innocent green-rimmed blue eyes to the now Secretary Ross. “What is it that you want me to do exactly?” Sterns then asks as he puts his book aside and gives his full attention to Ross.

“Make me stronger than the Hulk… in every way.” Ross says in his hard tone and stance.

“There may be a way… do you, by chance, have any… Extremis?” Sterns then asks after a moment’s thought on the issues at hand.

“How much do you need?” Ross answers and Sterns smiles wickedly.

“Just what I want to hear.” Sterns replies with a widening grin. “Give me everything I require and twelve hours in a lab, Secretary… and you’ll be the most powerful man on the planet.” Sterns answers as he stands and sets the book on the table beside him. Sterns then stands and approaches the reinforced glass of his cell, eyeing Ross the entire time.

“Done and done.” Ross says calmly with a nod of his head. “You start now.” He then says and turns away to walk briskly back to his office to set up everything.

 

___________

 

_Twelve hours later… in the Raft’s MedLab_

 

“You’re certain this will work?” Ross asks as he lays reclined upon a tilted med bed. He tests the straps on his wrists then gives the green skinned bio-chemist a hard look.

“As certain as the laws of Entropy, Secretary.” Sterns says casually as he finishes up mixing some Extremis with the highest concentration of Hulk’s blood. Ross had had all of Sterns’ research and samples confiscated back in 2010. The blood was put on ice and the research locked away… now it has been repurposed. Along with a few other additives… like plasma from a pyrokinetic Inhuman known as Scorch.

“That better be a yes, Sterns… ‘cause my men here have special adamantium bullets in their guns… and those will certainly get past your bullet-proof hide.” Ross threatens. To emphasize, the two guards load the chambers of their guns.

“Yes… and a well-placed shot will certainly kill me.” Sterns says with a lazy eye roll as he finishes the careful mixing and readies the formula to be put into the reservoir for his new ‘Hulk-maker’ device. After the set up is complete, Sterns approaches Ross who lays prone upon the tilted table.

“You’ll feel a little prick.” Sterns then says coolly as he swabs the inside of Ross’ elbow and slides the large needle into the waiting vein. Ross doesn’t react and Sterns tapes the needle and tube down. As he walks around the table, Sterns looks up and makes eye contact with Ross’ two guards. His green-rimmed blue eyes flash green for a moment… the flash repeats in the eyes of the two men and they blink it away but keep their guns trained on the gamma-radiated scientist.

“Let’s start, shall we?” Sterns then says in a more chipper mood and gives Ross an easy smile full of the same casual cockiness that Ross has seen within Tony Stark’s own expression. The Secretary of Defense just watches the big headed, green man lift a single finger then bring it down and press ‘enter’ on the laptop before him. The dialysis machine starts pumping… mixing the glowing chartreuse liquid with Ross’ blood before pumping it back into his body. Nothing happens at first… or for another minute or so. Ross is about to complain… but then it hits him like a slap to the face.

“Ugh!!” Ross cries out as his back arches and his muscles start to grow and bulge… his pale blue dress shirt pops all of its buttons while the sleeves start ripping at the seams. His skin starts to take on a reddish hue that gets darker as he bulks up more and more.

The support of the med table he is on starts to buckle until the whole table collapses down. Ross’ now giant, red hands break the restraints as they swell and grow. His eyes darken to a solid black in the corona and his normally blue irises turn a blazing yellow. White hair turns solid black as well. Ross then stands and cries out another enraged roar, flames burst to life upon the scarlet skin and burn away the last shreds of his clothes from his upper body.

“The power…” Ross starts to say in his now deeper grumble. “Is beyond incredible.” He then finishes and looks to Sterns with a wicked grin.

“Good… I’m glad you approve… since this is now permanent.” Sterns then says as he stands there looking up at the nearly ten foot tall, Red Hulk.

“Permanent?” Ross then says and cocks a black brow. He reaches out to grab Sterns… but the smaller, green man is ready for this.

“Yes… permanent.” Sterns reiterates as Ross grabs him by the throat. Suddenly the two guards train their guns on the Red Hulk.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Ross says as he looks to his guards. “Stand down men. That’s an order!” But they do not comply… instead their guns stay trained on the transformed Secretary.

“I’m sorry, Ross… but you’re not their leader anymore.” Sterns says smoothly and Ross looks back at the smaller, green man in his red hand. “I am.” Stern’s eyes flash green then and the flash is repeated in Ross’ yellow eyes. “And now I’m yours as well.” Sterns adds with a wide grin. _‘Put me down.’_ Sterns commands telepathically. Ross has a slightly bewildered look upon his red face then but he lets Sterns go.

_‘Now let’s go let Abomination out of his can so he can play on our side as well. And your men can gather up all of that adamantium ammo. We're going to need it.’_ Sterns commands into the minds of his subordinates as he straightens himself and fixes his white lab coat.

“Whatever you command, Leader.” Ross says blankly as he and his men comply to the mental order. Sterns then leads them from the Medlab… a smug smirk upon his green face as he smooths his pencil goatee.


	4. Easy way… or the Hard way?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolverine finally catches up with Bruce Banner.

_Late July, 2017… Open Market, Jewish Quarter, East Jerusalem_

 

Logan is walking through the crowded, narrow streets of the holiest city on Earth. The sounds, the smells, the sights… it’s all overwhelming but he is focused on his sole target… the most elusive quarry he has ever tracked in his nearly two hundred year long life. But Bruce Banner is close… so close now. Logan has come to respect the temperamental doctor, albeit grudgingly, for his elusiveness.

Just over a month has passed and yet Banner has continuously slipped through Logan’s fingers every time the Mutant comes close. It has become a pointed source of frustration for Logan… so much so that he may not put up with any bullshit Banner might pull when they do meet. That could very well turn out to be a recipe for disaster though.

But it’s not just Banner that is getting on Logan’s nerves… it’s the city as well. Jerusalem is restrictive when it comes to certain vices that the Mutant has. Alcohol is prohibited here, especially in the Jewish Quarter… and when Logan tried to have a few puffs from a cigar… let’s just say he tried not to cause a scene when some Hasidic Jews asked him to stop.

“You did great simply putting that disgusting hog leg you call a cigar out and walking away.” She-Hulk’s voice comes over the commlink.

“Yeah, well… they’re lucky I’m being so low profile about this.” Logan says trying to sound tough. He’s not about to admit to anyone else that he took the calm road out rather than the violent one that could’ve gone down. He sniffs a few times to catch the myriad scents wafting around him.

“Any leads yet?” She-Hulk asks over the commlink.

“Maybe.” Logan says as he smells a familiar and very distinct scent… it’s rather toxic in nature… and smells a hell of a lot stronger than She-Hulk’s own scent… but it is nearly identical. “I’m getting closer.” Logan then says as he follows his nose down the twisting streets and alleys. He stops after passing an open door… the toxic scent is coming from within… so Logan enters.

He excuses himself and steps aside as a middle-aged woman and her young son move through the doorway to leave. Logan then enters the small waiting room within. There are a few women with children sitting patiently upon the couches around the room. Logan sniffs some more… getting the scent of medical supplies, as well as a mix of the sterile cleanliness and the scent of blood and various other bodily fluids. It is such an odd juxtaposition but Logan pays it little mind as he moves past the waiting room and down the hall past the next door.

The woman at the front hollers in Hebrew for him to stop but Logan ignores the chatter as he continues his hunt. The woman soon gives up and Logan quickly locates the elusive Doctor Banner in an exam room at the end of the hall. The thus-far elusive doctor tells something to the old man he is seeing as he hands over a bottle. The old man leaves with his medicine allowing Logan to block the doorway afterwards.

“What up Doc?” Logan says with a small smile as he looks at Banner.

“I was wondering who they’d send to come looking for me.” Bruce says as he stands his ground. Logan doesn’t need to be psychic to tell that Bruce is wound up tighter than a spring. “It makes sense that the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. would send you… you’re a tracker. No one else would’ve found me… no one but you… you’re too persistent for your own good.” Bruce says with an edge in his voice. Logan shifts in his position opening his mouth to speak… but Bruce cuts him off.

“The answer is no… I’m not going back. Not to the Avengers, or what’s left of them… not to S.H.I.E.L.D. and certainly not in the custody of the US Government. I’m done with being a hero… done with hurting innocent people… done with all of it. So no… just… no. Just leave me in peace, please.” Bruce finishes and Logan can hear the man’s heart racing and see his cheeks flush from frustration. The doctor then turns away from Logan to lean over the examination table. His fists tightening upon the cracked leather padding.

“I can’t do that, Doc. You know that…” Logan says firmly as he takes a step inside the room closer to the shorter man… but he gets no reply, no reaction whatsoever. “Look, bub… we can do this the easy way… or the hard way.” Logan adds sternly as he comes to stand next to Bruce’s left side. He reaches out and puts a hand on the doctor’s shoulder.

“Don’t make him mad, Logan.” She-Hulk warns through the commlink having heard the conversation just as Logan does that.

“I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!!!” Bruce shouts as he turns his eyes to Logan… the normally brown orbs are blazing emerald green and Bruce’s skin starts changing shade as he bulks up.

“Oh… shiiiii-” Logan starts to say but is backhanded and sent flying through the wall… he busts through it and across the back lot area of the small hospital. He then goes through the concrete wall and across the street. Thankfully, there is a break in the traffic and Logan impacts the concrete outer wall of another building unimpeded. It takes him a moment to stand… but once he is on his feet, Logan rolls his shoulders as all the scratches and cuts heal up. He has never been more thankful for his unbreakable bones than he is right now… because this would take longer to heal EVERY bone in his body.

“Hard way it is then.” Logan says as he pops his neck. His claws pop out as he jumps out of the ruined wall just as the Hulk comes running over. They meet in the middle of the street… the Hulk swinging a right hook with his massive green fist which Logan dodges by ducking to the left and comes up swiping his right hand out… the three adamantium claws bite into the verdant skin and slice through the thick muscles underneath. Green blood comes spilling forth and the Hulk cries out in unrelenting agony. The anger comes rushing into the Hulk’s blazing green eyes and his muscles bulge as he fixes his gaze on the source of this new pain… even as the wounds quickly seal up.

“Oooo… Don’t like it when your indestructible hide gets cut, huh?” Logan says as he ducks under the inevitable backhand… but he quickly takes a knee to the chest and is sent flying down the street several blocks. He stops himself by using his claws as brakes on the road. He then springs up rolling forward just as Hulk comes diving in to deliver a powerful punch that craters the ground and sends out a rippling shockwave. Logan losses his footing due to the ensuing shaking and has to roll away quickly as Hulk jumps over to stomp the clawed menace.

Wolverine slashes out with a clawed hand… the Hulk screams as his Achilles tendon is severed and he falls down on one knee. Logan takes full advantage of this prone position and climbs up the Hulk’s back using his claws. Hulk cries out in pained rage… massive green hands try to get a grip on the smaller man but he can’t reach him.

“Just hold still a moment, bub!” Logan shouts as he pulls his right hand free from the green flesh of Hulk’s back. He retracts those claws and starts punching the back of Hulk’s head as hard as he can. Instead of knocking him out… it only infuriates the giant, green rage monster even further. The Hulk buck’s sending Wolverine forward and thus further up onto the massive shoulders… this brings him within range of a huge hand. Logan is grabbed and slammed down extra hard upon the ancient cobbled street cracking it further… then a few more times for good measure. Then as Wolverine lays there in the ruined street, Hulk raises his fists high and slams them down on Logan’s chest with all his indomitable might.

“HULK… NO LIKE… LITTLE… CLAWED… MAN!!!!” Hulk roars out in time to every double-fisted pounding he delivers. A Wolverine-shaped crater is quickly being formed… then just as Hulk is about to deliver a sixth, mighty blow… She-Hulk lands on the street and rushes forward just in time to catch the Hulk’s wrists and stop the blow from falling.

“ENOUGH!” She shouts and the sound-burst shatters windows within a one block radius. She restrains the huge, bulging arms with her own tremendous strength that is belied by her slightly smaller, voluptuous form. Hulk’s face shifts immediately from rage to bewilderment to guilt. He then shakes his head and retreats pulling away from She-Hulk then turning and jumping away. “You’re not getting away that easily, Big Guy.” Jen mutters to herself before she, too, performs a super jump to follow.

“Uuuhhuhhuughh…” Logan groans as he starts to move slowly inside his own crater. “I’m gettin’ too old for this shit.” He then gripes as he sits up and rolls his neck and shoulders. He then stands and pops his lower back as he looks in the direction the emerald cousins fled. People are starting to gather around him now so Logan starts walking/limping away.

“Come on folks, nothing to see here… just got my ass handed to me by the less than jolly Green Giant.” Logan then says as he waves off folks approaching him asking if he is alright and taking pictures of him with their smartphones. _‘I hope you have better luck than I did, Jen.’_ Logan thinks as he continues walking… now more normally. He quickly snags a scooter after the owner parked it and went into a Turkish coffee shop. His next move is to get to his hoverbike and get back to the quinjet. He can then locate Jen using the comm-system.

He does know some things… or at least he tries to retain some of what others have shown him over the many years. It did help that She-Hulk showed him how to work the comm-system in the time they’ve been tracking Bruce.

 

___________

 

_Twenty minutes later… on the western shore of the Dead Sea…_

 

“STOP!!!!” She-Hulk shouts as she lands close to the Hulk and runs towards him… but he jumps away once more… and she continues in hot pursuit. As soon as they hit the salt-covered ground, She-Hulk rushes to close the distance. Hulk starts to flee again but She-Hulk grabs his wrist and holds fast.

“Dammit, Bruce! I said stop.” She says firmly. She can feel the Hulk tense up under her smaller, green hand.

“Not puny Banner… Hulk is Hulk.” Hulk says firmly in response before turning his face to hers.

“Then, please, stop running and hear me out, Hulk.” Jen pleads giving her best puppy-dog eyes. It’s a move that always worked on Bruce in the past… and though the Hulk may insist on being different, the truth is he and Banner are one in the same. So, predictably enough, Hulk eases in his stance and just closes his green eyes. The sorrowful/guilty look on her huge, green cousin’s face is heartbreaking.

“Then talk.” He finally says in a deep, gloomy rumble.

“I don’t blame you for this… for why I’m green too.” Jen starts as she gestures to herself with a hand on her chest. “I understand why Bruce did the blood transfusion. He saved my life… and so did you by getting me to that hospital.” She then reaches out and touches the Hulk’s chin. She gently turns his face to hers. “Bruce… Hulk… I forgive you… both of you.” She says sincerely.

“You shouldn’t.” Hulk then says giving her a deep frown. He then looks down and adds, “Hulk deserve your hate. Banner… coward… he deserve your hate more.”

“Regardless of what either of you deserve… I still forgive you both.” Jen says as she takes Hulk’s face in both her hands. They share a silent moment just looking into one another’s eyes. Jen is starting to cry through her concerned look whilst Hulk continues to frown… though tears start to well up in his eyes as well. She then pulls the taller, bulkier Hulk into a firm hug as her arms wind around his thick neck. “We’re family… and family-” She starts.

“Sticks together.” Hulk finishes as he embraces his cousin around her hourglass waist. The floodgates seem to burst then and Hulk weeps openly as he holds Jen close. “Hulk sorry… Hulk sorry he brought bad men to Jen’s place. Hulk so sorry Jen got hurt.” He starts muttering as he falls to his knees before her.

“It’s okay… it’s okay. That’s in the past and we’re together now… we’ll figure this out together. Okay?” Jen says as she wipes the tears from his cheeks and does her best to comfort him as she cries too. Now that she has her cousin back, Jen wonders what the next step should be.

The Avengers had a ‘parting of ways’ in the days following the start of hers and Logan’s search for Bruce… now Tony Stark is the official leader of the Avengers whilst half the roster left with Captain America… sorry, EX-Captain America… Steve Rogers did kinda give up the whole stars and stripes role the moment he broke the Accords. So either of those options is a no-go. A thought then come to mind… a third choice and possible solution to their problem.

“Come with me, Hulk.” Jen says with a smile as she moves to help Hulk stand. “I know somewhere we can go where we’ll be safe and no one will bother us. You’ll love it in fact. I’m sure of it.” She then adds in reassurance. Hulk just follows her lead and when She-Hulk jumps away, he follows suit.

 

___________

 

_An hour later… in the ruins of Petra…_

 

“It’s just over here.” She-Hulk says as she looks back at Hulk. He smiles at her as she reaches a hand out to him and he hesitantly takes it. “Hopefully, Logan has made it back here by now… otherwise we’ll have to go find him.” Jen says as she leads Hulk along the wide, carved passage of reddish stone. The ruined structures that surround them are stark and fill the Hulk with tension at being in such an enclosed area.

“It’s okay. There’s no one around for miles and miles. Petra has been closed off to tourists due to a recent earthquake. Don’t want anyone getting hit in the head by a falling rock, am I right? Except us.” Jen starts then raps her knuckles upon her dark green haired head causing the shoulder length waves to jostle. “Our heads are harder than the rocks.” She jokes to ease the mood even giving her cousin a wink.

“Hulk’s head break rocks.” Hulk then says with a chuckle and smiles at Jen. It warms her heart to see her changed cousin finally regaining some of his humanity… but the mood only lasts for so long…

“Logan. Logan, come in. Can you hear me?” She-Hulk then says as she lets go of Hulk’s hand and presses on her earbud to talk through the open channel… but there is no response. “That’s odd.” She then comments.

“Hulk no like.” Hulk says as his blazing green eyes start to scan the ruins. Soon a frown deepens once more upon his face. “Feels too much like set-up.” He then adds.

“It’s just the canyon walls… can’t get a signal out for crap apparently. You’ve met Logan… he was the little man with the metal claws in his hands.” Jen says and Hulk growls at the memory of fighting the Wolverine. “Trust me on this, please… Logan is a good guy… once you get to know him that is.” She then adds quickly. “He can be a bit difficult at times… but then so can you.” Jen continues as she places a reassuring hand upon his shoulder. Hulk rolls his eyes at her comment about him being difficult sometimes.

“Fine. Hulk not fight unless Little Clawed Man fight Hulk.” Hulk then says somewhat grudgingly as they approach the amphitheater area and it opens up more.

“We’re almost to the quinjet. It’s just up ahead a little further in the temple complex. More open there.” Jen says to Hulk before darting ahead and shouting, “LOGAN!!!” Her sonorous voice echoes around the amphitheater, back down the canyon, and echoing out across the temple area. The echoes vibrate off the cliff faces causing dust and small stones to tumble. Then they wait for a few minutes… and still, no Wolverine.

“Where the hell is he?” She-Hulk mutters to herself as she walks up to the open area in front of the temple foundation. She pulls a small keyfaub out as she climbs the stairs to reach the flat open area where a temple complex once stood two thousand years ago. She clicks the button to drop the stealth cloak. The back opens and out steps Logan from the ruined colonnade.

“There you are. Why didn’t you answer when I radioed you, Loga-” She-Hulk starts to ask as she walks towards him… but she is cut off as the Wolverine leaps at her plunging both sets of claws into her shoulders just over her large breasts. “The hell?” She mutters out as she grabs his smaller wrists in her green hands. She looks into his hazel eyes which have a strange green ring around the outer edge and are filled with a dull, chilling stare. This isn’t the Logan she knows… so she pushes him away hard sending the Wolverine flying into the cliff side.

“JEN!!” Hulk roars out as he hurries over. He puts a large hand on her back to steady her.

“I’m fine… I’ll be fine. The wounds are already healing.” Jen says as she looks up at her taller cousin. Her gloved hand rubs at the now healed but blood-soaked area on her upper chest. “That’s not the Logan I know… something’s off, something’s wrong.” She says but is frustrated by the lack of answers as to what is happening. That’s when the clapping comes… slow, measured applause.

“Nicely done, my dear.” Comes a smooth voice and soon a new individual enters upon the staging area from within the quinjet. He is smaller than the pair of Hulks though just as green and with a big head instead of big muscles. “I’ve got to say, I’m a huge fan.” He says with a wolfish grin, “Hulk there is a superb specimen… but you, my dear… you are simply stunning!”

“Okay… Creeper much?” She-Hulk says as she crosses her muscled arms over her busty chest and gives the new guy a hard glare. “Who are you and what do you want besides getting your ass kicked by my size sixteens?”

“Who am I?” The new, green guy starts then chuckles. “Why I’m the only scientist to study the Hulk and his unique… condition… in depth. Heck, if I wanted to… I could reverse the effects.” At that both Hulk and She-Hulk get a daringly hopeful look upon their faces… but it is lost on Hulk’s almost immediately.

“You lie, Big Head!” Hulk says heatedly and starts forward.

“Now, now… Doctor Banner, let’s be reasonable. No reason to lose our cool.” The smaller, green man says calmly as he just stands there perfectly still as Hulk comes running in. Hulk rages but just before he impacts with the newcomer, the Wolverine leaps in slashing wildly at the Hulk.

Hulk cries out in rage and pain as his face, his chest, and his arms are slashed repeatedly in this berserker rage. He is backed up and away from the strange, new man. Hulk then gets super mad and stomps the ground causing the Wolverine to lose his footing. Hulk takes full advantage and grabs Wolverine by both his arms. Hulk looks at the animalistic berserker for a few seconds before grabbing his legs in one hand and whipping him against the ground repeatedly then throwing him back over his shoulder. He is now all eyes for the smaller, green man.

“Jen asked Big Head question… What is Big Head’s name? ANSWER HER!!!” Hulk shouts as he comes to stand before the smaller, green man who smiles like the cat with the cream.

“Don’t you remember me… Mr. Green?” The little, green man says and suddenly his eyes flash green for a moment and Hulk is stunned… but then he shakes his green-haired head as he takes a step back.

 _‘That’s Samuel Sterns aka Mr. Blue. He’s trying to control our mind! Lucky, there’s no room for him in here.’_ Hulk can feel Bruce’s thoughts just under the surface of his own consciousness.

“Mr. Blue.” Hulk rumbles out as he steps back in with a deep frown on his face. Sterns smiles wickedly thinking he’s won… but then suddenly Hulk’s fist is around his neck and the back of his enlarged head. “Give Hulk one reason not to crush Big Head like overripe avocado.”

“ROSS!!! BLONSKY!!!” Sterns yells and this puzzles both Hulk and She-Hulk.

“Did he just call for backup?” She-Hulk says then suddenly the twelve-foot tall Abomination lands behind her and the nearly nine-foot tall Red Hulk lands behind her cousin. “Bruce! Look out!” She-Hulk yells and dodges a grab from the gnarled and misshapen brute.

“Where ya going, Love? We’re gonna get nicely acquainted once this is all over.” Abomination says in his deep, raspy grumble. His grin is horrifying and causes She-Hulk to cringe.

“I don’t think so, buddy. Have you looked in a mirror lately… or any reflective surface that is… without it breaking?” She-Hulk jibes as she avoids the large, grasping hands.

“Come here!” He then roars and rushes her as his anger flares from her words. And like that… the fight is on. She-Hulk does her best to evade the gnarled looking Abomination. He is nearly twice her height and five times bulkier than her… this just means he’s slower than her as well… a fact that Jen uses to her full advantage.

She uses every bit of her S.H.I.E.L.D. training to counter the big brute’s moves. She even lands a few well placed punches… but that just seems to piss off Blonsky more and more. Then Jen hears the rapid ‘rap-rap-rap-rap’ of automatic gunfire. She turns around to look in the direction of Hulk, who is being restrained by a somewhat bigger red-skinned Hulk.

“Hulk!” Jen shouts and starts to rush over as the bullets rip into Hulk causing him to cry out in pain. That is so odd because Jen knows his and her skin is bulletproof.

“Got ya!” Abomination says triumphantly as his massive, bulging arms snake around her waist trapping her arms at her sides. It’s starting to look more than a little hopeless now though as She-Hulk stops struggling momentarily to watch the bullets pelt her cousin.


	5. Survival of the Strongest

Samuel Sterns watches bemused as the fighting erupts around the Petra temple complex. She-Hulk is dodging and evading Blonsky’s advances, even fighting back against the taller brute when she can… and Sterns finds himself staring too long at the verdant Amazon. He has such plans for her… marvelous, grandiose plans that are now so close to fruition… but the original Hulk… the progenitor of the fearsome fighters before him, including himself, must be subdued and put in his rightful place… as nothing more than a source of blood to create the most powerful, unstoppable army the world has ever seen! First the Hulk… then the World!!!

Hulk had dropped Sterns when he was grabbed from behind by a slightly taller, red-skinned Hulk. The hold is tight… and getting tighter. Hulk groans out in frustration and anger as he tries to break said hold but can’t.

“All this power and you’ve done nothing but just run away.” Red Hulk says in his deep rumble as he holds on. Hulk starts to rage and roar now, muscles bulging as he tries ever harder to force a break in the hold. “That’s right… fight, struggle, rage away. Unleash your power, Banner!” Ross says and soon his red skin starts to glow with an orange hue. Hulk gives a mighty roar in pain as the burning starts and smoke wisps upwards between them.

“Do it now, Sterns!” Red Hulk shouts as he holds the struggling Hulk in his massive arms. Sterns then raises his hand and gives the signal… and gunfire erupts from the top of the cliff. The bullets hit Hulk in the chest and abdomen… and they don’t deflect. No, they are adamantium munitions… Judas Bullets courtesy of Hammer Tech Industries… and they cut through Hulk’s flesh like a hot knife through butter.

“Hurts don’t it?” Red Hulk says in Hulk’s ear with a wicked grin. “Those bullets can’t get me… they burn away as soon as they pierce my skin.” He adds and Hulk notices that indeed the bullets do melt away when they hit the scarlet arms wrapped around him. Hulk’s anger increases evermore until it overcomes the pain… in fact the pain starts feeding his anger in a nasty feedback loop.

“HULK CANNOT BE HELD!!!” Hulk shouts as he whips his head back to impact against the Red Hulk’s nose and black mustache. The green giant then forces his massive arms outwards breaking Red Hulk’s hold upon him and when he turns around… Hulk swings a furious uppercut that catches the red chin and sends this new Red Hulk skyward. Hulk then gives another mighty roar before leaping to pursue his red counterpart and escaping the gunfire. Red Hulk hits the ground on the plateau above the canyon.

“Damn you, Banner!” Red Hulk shouts and his eyes blaze yellow. The very air around him starts to ripple with the heat that is pouring off his scarlet skin. “You mindless brute!” Ross yells out and leaps as Hulk comes down. They meet in midair and the impact is brutal. Ross’ momentum is greater and so he and Hulk continue on his trajectory. The two Hulks trade blow after blow until they hit the canyon floor cracking and cratering the reddish-orange stone. Red Hulk holds his green nemesis by the throat and delivers punch after punch to the grimacing face.

Hulk grits his teeth as he takes the blows. The smoke smoldering in the air from their points of contact as the heat increases. Sweat is pouring from the Hulk and he is starting to waver. Ross then stops pummeling the source of his frustrations for nearly the last decade and wraps both hands around the thick, green throat.

“I’m going to end you here and now… you green menace.” Ross says heatedly as he starts to lift Hulk’s head from the stony ground then bash it down hard repeatedly.

“Stop what you are doing, Ross. I need him alive.” Sterns says as he comes floating over. Red Hulk immediately lets go and Hulk flops down on the cratered ground unconscious. Ross is not happy about this turn of events but he cannot turn his anger towards Sterns. The mind-control makes him obey but it doesn’t cloud his mind… no, that is still his own… for now. Instead, the changed Ross just clenches his fists and steps aside as Sterns lands and walks over to the Hulk.

“Hmm… excellent. I now have the key to remake this world in my image.” Sterns says as he smirks to himself.

“Let me go, Fugly!” She-Hulk snaps as she struggles in Abomination’s massive arms as he brings her to Sterns. He crushes her tighter and She-Hulk groans out in pain. It isn’t loud as the air is squeezed from her lungs.

“She’s a lively one.” Abomination says with an amused chuckle. He then sniffs her dark green hair and hums. “Been awhile since I had a tussle with a lady.” He then comments. She-Hulk then goes from slack to whipping her head back hard… impacting with Blonsky’s ugly face square in the nose… causing it to burst and spill green blood. “Ugh! Bitch!” He growls out as he squeezes tighter then slams himself and her down face first to the stony ground.

“Now, now Blonsky. We can’t treat the lady in such a manner.” Sterns says as he closes the short distance. Abomination stands still holding She-Hulk in his arms. She is barely conscious though.

“What the hell do you want, Egghead?” She then asks tiredly. Green blood is trickling from her nose and her wavy hair has fallen to cover the left side of her face.

“Well… I wanted the Hulk, my dear… or more specifically, his blood.” Sterns starts then looks her over with a careful down-up. “But… now that I’ve seen you… hmm… such an exquisite and exotic beauty you are… well, I’m going to make you my Eve… and together we shall bring forth a new people for the new world. A Planet Hulk! Can you imagine it?” Sterns says as he lifts She-Hulk’s chin up and slowly traces her lavender painted, lower lip with his thumb. She-Hulk snaps her mouth open and bites down hard on the digit. Sterns yanks his hand back and rage flashes across his face briefly. She then spits the green blood out of her mouth.

“You’re sick! And you’re dreaming if you think I’d willing let you touch me in ANY manner!” She says angrily. Sterns then composes himself and chuckles.

“I don’t need your consent, my dear.” Sterns starts smoothly then he grabs her chin and stares hard into her eyes. “Not when your mind is enslaved to me.” He hisses out and his eyes start to swirl with a green light.

“AHHH!!!” Sterns then shouts as three adamantium claws burst through his chest. “Wha-da hell?” He adds meekly as he looks down at the claws. Three more then come through his lower abdomen.

“The lady said no, bub… and no means no.” Wolverine says gruffly as he then lifts Sterns and throws him aside. “Hey, Ugly! I’ve got six reasons for ya to let the lady go.” Wolverine then says as he holds his fists before him to display his green coated claws to Abomination. The big brute just sneers down at the much smaller man.

“I don’t think so… Little Man.” Abomination rumbles out as he holds She-Hulk around her waist and slides one hand up to her throat. He then sniffs at her hair again. “She’s mine.” He growls out low and long.

“I warned ya, bub.” Wolverine growls out then rushes forward. He dodges low as Abomination kicks out at him. Sliding along the stony ground and slashing upwards connecting with the big brute’s crotch.

“Aaagghh!” Abomination cries out in pain as his ‘sensitive area’ is damaged. He immediately lets go of She-Hulk to grab his bleeding crotch and inner thigh. “You little bloody wank-” He starts and focuses too much on Logan that he forgets about Jen… and she kicks his knees out with a sweeping kick then pounds him hard in the face with a double-fisted slam. She does this repeatedly until Abomination stops moving… out cold from the merciless attack. She then continues for a few more punches longer before stopping and straightening up.

“Savage She-Hulk indeed.” Wolverine says as he looks at her with a touch of concern. “Remind me to never piss you off.” He then adds. She-Hulk chuckles.

“Look out!” She shouts and Logan turns around barely ducking the in-coming boulder.

“So I finally come face to face with the fearsome Wolverine.” Ross says flexing his bulging muscles as he strolls over. “Can’t say that I’m impressed.”

“And you are… who again? Just some red asshole, right?” Wolverine asks snidely not liking this new Hulk.

“Your end.” Red Hulk says as he cracks his knuckles and stares hard at Logan.

“Good… cuz I’m done listenin’ to your cake hole flappin’ like ya got somethin’ to say!” Wolverine says heatedly as he readies himself. Red Hulk sneers at the words and starts rushing forward. He swings a punch down and Logan dodges… he then gives a backhanded slash down the extended red arm. Red Hulk gives a quick backhand of his own and knocks Wolverine away. Ross watches as the triple slash wounds seal up stopping the flow of the yellow-orange blood from his veins. The blood bubbles and boils as it hits the ground causing smoke to rise. She-Hulk then comes in with a haymaker aimed at the back of Red Hulk’s black-haired head… but he side-steps away and kicks her in her side… sending her tumbling along the stony ground until she hits the cliff wall.

“Is that all you’ve got, Wolverine?” Red Hulk taunts. Logan knows it’s a taunt. Knows this fucker is serious too. He can also feel the heat rolling off the big guy and he looks down at the still glowing tips of his adamantium claws on his right hand. This is going to be a difficult fight.

“I got one question…” Logan then says to the Red Hulk. “Do you burst through walls when someone yells _‘Hey, Kool-Aid’_?” Two can play this game… Red Hulk gives a ‘humph’ and wicked smirk at the remark.

“I didn’t think animals could come up with clever retorts.” Ross says mockingly. Wolverine narrows his eyes then chuckles coldly.

“Then I guess you won’t fall for the oldest trick in the book? Like _‘What’s that behind you’_?” Wolverine then says sarcastically as he gestures with his chin for Ross to turn his head.

“No.” Red Hulk says as he continues to stare down Wolverine and a split second later Hulk is slamming into Ross’ big, red back.

“Should’ve listened.” Wolverine says with a smirk as Hulk unleashes an unrelenting barrage of punches and slamming fists until he finally grabs Red Hulk by the back of his head and slams him face first into the stony ground.

“Hulk no like Red Hulk!” Hulk yells as he repeatedly bashes Ross’ face into the ground. He soon stops though as Red Hulk becomes too hot to touch. “And Hulk no like being burned!” Hulk says as he immediately turns to grab a large boulder and slams it into Red Hulk’s face as the scarlet-skinned Hulk stands and turns towards Hulk. Hulk then rushes forward with his nigh super speed and tackles Red Hulk. The two trade blows until Red Hulk gets his arms around Hulk’s waist. Ross roars and his eyes blaze brightly… the air ripples and flames start to flicker to life upon his scarlet skin. Hulk cries out in pain as he is burned by the intense heat.

“Now die, Hulk!” Red Hulk shouts as he turns up the heat even more until the two are surrounded by a raging inferno. Hulk just gets madder and madder until his rage swells his muscles and his own eyes blaze a brighter green. His veins start to glow under his verdant skin as power floods his system keeping Hulk from being burned. He gives a mighty roar and slams his fists down with all his strength upon Red Hulk’s neck and shoulders. Red Hulk cries out in pain as his massive shoulders are dislocated.

“HULK STRONGEST THERE IS!!!” Hulk roars out as the grip loosens, Hulk then kicks Red Hulk square in the chest. He goes flying backwards until he slams into the canyon wall and continues into the rock face for several feet. The cliff wall cracks and fractures then starts to give way and fall down.

“We’ve gotta go!” She-Hulk shouts as she grabs Logan and pushes Hulk to run. They then leap away as the dust cloud comes racing at them… barely escaping the landslide. They land next to the quinjet and quickly board. She-Hulk immediately moving to the cockpit area and flipping the switches to fire up the turbines. She then grabs the control stick and pulls back with one hand whilst pushing the throttle forward with the other. They rise into the air as the dust cloud from further up the canyon sweeps into the temple complex area.

Red Hulk emerges from the rubble of the ruined canyon wall. Flames flicker into life and dance along his scarlet skin and he watches the fleeing quinjet with hateful eyes. He then unleashes an eruption of flames as he screams out his rage… melting the stones around him.


End file.
